Monthly Grovel: December 2020

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Minnesota is under another COVID-19 Emergency Executive Order from Governor Tim Walz until Dec. 19. But the “dial back on certain activities” doesn’t mean the PDD Calendar is barren. There are online events galore, activities outside the parameters of the order such as Bentleyville, and numerous virus-defying events in lawless Wisconsin. So the merry elves at Perfect Duluth Day remain hard at work.

Each month we reach out with one beggarly blog post to remind everyone that human beings and not machines are at work editing and publishing calendar events. So if you appreciate it, drop a few bucks in the PayPal account.

Duluth photos repaired and colorized: 19th century people/places

Streetcar Barn (1882)
Superior Street and 11th Avenue West

All of the photos here come from the University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library through the Minnesota Reflections website. While most of the pictures on the site have been well preserved, some have been damaged over the years. For six of these photographs, I digitally repaired any damage and then added color.

Adventures of the Bigger-Than-Weather Boys

This series of advertising postcards by artist and writer Peter Newell promotes the Patrick-Duluth Woolen Mill.

Virtual Broadway murder mystery musical is set in Duluth

Detective Case is finally on the case. Sing along with Jessica Keenan Wynn in the video above. She plays the role of a meter maid “doling tickets out in Downtown Duluth” until a murder case takes her in a new direction.

Duluth You & Me: Sled Dogs and Their Mushers

Use the link below for a printable PDF for your coloring and drawing pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Sled Dogs

Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.

Bailey is Short Rap

This is basically an in-joke between friends but local and fun enough to post. A diss track inspired by my short friend Bailey. She dared me to do this, is how I remember it.

Music: “Young Thug Type Beat 2018 – ‘Sippin’ | Trap Instrumental 2018” by MADEBYFLOWERZ

 

 

Julebyen Troll Patrol

Learn all about the infestation of trolls in the Knife River area.

PDD Quiz: November 2020 in Review

How much do you remember about the news that made headlines in November? Take this weeks current events quiz to find out!

The next PDD quiz will be published on Dec. 13; it will look at some Twin Ports records (steepest street, tallest building, etc.). Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Dec. 10.

Postcards from the Wreck of the Steamer Crescent City

The steamer Crescent City was driven into rocks on the shore of Lake Superior northeast of Duluth 115 years ago today — Nov. 28, 1905. It was one of numerous wrecks during a storm that was most famous for sinking the Mataafa near the Duluth Ship Canal. Nine of 24 Mataafa crew members perished; everyone on Crescent City survived.

Lake Avenue Loafers

Various photos of men whose obituaries mention their affiliation with the Lake Avenue Loafers.

Anyone who reads Duluth obituaries will occasionally come across this phrase: “… was a member of the Lake Avenue Loafers.” For the uninitiated it begs two questions: “Who were these guys and what did they do besides loaf?”

Lift Lincoln Park Indiegogo Episode II

Another COVID-19 lockdown, another Lincoln Park Craft District Indiegogo campaign. The original, back in April, had 1,371 backers and raised more than $67,000.

Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival 2020 Trailer

This year’s Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour is virtual. Films are available online from Thanksgiving Day until Oct. 24.

Proceeds benefit the Duluth Cross-Country Ski Club if purchased via duluthxc.com. Once there, click “DXC link to BMFF” to get started.

Mayo Clinic Mask Study

With vaccines on the brink of being rolled out it is conceivable that we can have a post-COVID summer next year, but we need to try to avoid spreading the virus in the meantime. A new Mayo Clinic Study shows that two unmasked people have a 100 percent chance of exposure at 1 foot apart, 17 percent exposure at 3 feet apart, and 3 percent exposure at 6 feet apart. With both people masked there’s a 0.5 percent exposure risk even at just 1 foot apart. Even if you yourself are feeling bulletproof, this is about protecting others.

Highlights: UMD Choir and Vocal Jazz Fall 2020 Concert

Singers at the University of Minnesota Duluth overcame great odds this semester during the COVID-19 pandemic. They wore masks and rehearsed online, outdoors and in large lecture halls, ultimately sharing their musical talents in a virtual concert on Nov. 13. Some highlights are in the clip above.

An audience of more than 150 joined together on Zoom to hear the University Singers, Concert Chorale, Chamber Singers, Lake Effect and Chill Factor perform on location in Weber Music Hall, Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary, and around Duluth and the UMD Campus.

Release of Sofia Logan’s debut album

Stillwater-based artist Sofia Logan has released her debut album, Waiting for You, Waiting for Me. The album was recorded in December 2019 in a home near the University of Minnesota Duluth that houses what is believed to be one of the city’s first recording studios.